Hello Clark, my name is Kim Staves and I live in central NY. I am 24 years old and have a 16 month old son and am happily living with my boyfriend in a home we just recently financed in his name. Due to the interest rates his name only appears with the home, but besides the point it saves us a lot of money because I have not really established good credit yet. Currently I am taking classes, working, and trying to raise my child. As of right now I have a car payment totaling $260.00 per month with my own insurance and of course since I am under the age of 25 it is about $124.00 per month. Expensive, yes. On the down side I have many medical bills I am trying to pay off monthly due to myself and my son having a very difficult pregnancy. (About 1 month for each of us in the hospital) I also have 5 in-store retail charge cards that I am having a very hard time paying off as well as my MC & VISA. They include: Target, Kohls, Victoria's Secret, Goodyear, & Bargain Outlet (home repairs). Since the downfall of our economy my job as a waitress is no longer paying my bills; my hours have dropped and at this point in time I am incurring many late charges and not making a dent in anything! I even had to sacrifice attending college this semester because I simply cannot afford not to work! I am in a very frustrating position and I watch CNN every morning and was hoping that you would be so kind as to lend me some advice on debt consolidation??? I regret I do not know much about it but I am at my witts end. After I submit this letter I am going on a hunt for a second job in hope's that maybe by the fall my finances will be in good standing and that I can finally continue my schooling. I am going to school to become a Surgical technician and if I can just get there then my life would take a turn for the better. It makes me sad that I work so hard and I have no savings for myself or my son and I am very interested in starting another 401k or a roth IRA so my future seems somewhat bright and secure.

Thank you Clark,

Sincerely, Kim Staves (NY)